Random forest modeling explained up to 63% of the Rim fire burn variance using seven predictors: time since previous fire, actual evapotranspiration (AET), climatic water deficit (Deficit), previous maximum burn severity, burning index, slope position, and solar radiation.
It has been realized that the consumed portion of the ground layer (or reduction in the depth by burning) depends on the burn severity and ground wetness at burning time [4, 23, 24].
It has been realized that the consumed portion of the ground layer (or reduction in the depth by burning) depends on the burn severity and ground wetness at burning time [ 4, 23, 24].
However, we believe it has potential as a tool for planning fuel treatment projects, in management of actively burning fires, and for better understanding of landscape-scale burn severity patterns.
After the fires, localized debris flows favored smaller order streams in watersheds less than 4000 ha in size, where there had been mostly high severity burning.
SOCD was relatively sensitive to the temporary increase after medium-severity fire, while SOCC was more sensitive to the prolonged decrease following high-severity burning.
After one or two leaching seasons, a statistically significant increase (less than + 5% on average for SOCC, less than + 10% on average for SOCD) was observed in low- and medium-severity burning areas due to incorporation of fire-derived forest debris and semi-decomposed dead roots, but this minor increase was diminished or offset by the third year.
Future studies should consider variations in spatial extent of burning, repeated burn treatments (including mixed seasonal burn treatments such as combined fall and summer burning), and burn prescriptions of mixed intensity and severity.
In the current northern Australia methodology, as noted, emissions are determined by patchiness, fire severity class, burning efficiency, fuel loads, emissions factors, carbon content and the nitrogen to carbon ratio.
